1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates broadly to hand tools used for construction. More particularly, this invention relates to multipurpose hand tools such as a hammer for nailing, nail pulling and measuring and marking objects such as floor joists, studs, ceiling joists, rafters, framing materials, subflooring, sheathing boards, dry wall, etc.
2. State of the Art
Multipurpose hammers that can be used to strike and pull nails as well as perform common measurements are known in the art. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,732,058 demarks a hammer with a neck member that includes an 8 inch measuring scale along one edge with a similar scale in centimeters along an opposite edge. However, it is difficult to accurately measuring distance with this hammer because the user must locate and maintain the top of the hammer at the desired origin of the measurement. This is cumbersome and prone to error.
Moreover, such multipurpose hammers do not aid the user in performing other common measurement and marking operations, including orthogonal line marking (which is typically performed in conjunction with a T-square), parallel line and/or angled line marking operations relative to the edge of a board (which are typically performed in conjunction with a tape measure and straight edge or snap line), etc. Thus, in order to carry out these common measurement and marking operations, one must carry and manipulate a large number of tools, which is burdensome in both energy and time for the user.